<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Cherry Silk by PixelatedRose</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30129354">Cherry Silk</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixelatedRose/pseuds/PixelatedRose'>PixelatedRose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SK8 the Infinity (Anime)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Fluff, Kaoru literally doesn't know how to do his own hair, M/M, Mild Angst, Minor Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom/Shindo Ainosuke | Adam, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Rating May Change, Rating for language in later chapters, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, in later chapters and it doesn't last I promise, potential trigger warnings to be consulted chapter by chapter, there might be heavier angst in later chapters if I feel spicy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:48:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,173</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30129354</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixelatedRose/pseuds/PixelatedRose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"You look like shit."</p><p>"so do you, dimwit. But I suppose that's nothing new is it?"</p><p>"You just CAN'T shut your mouth huh?" Kojiro fumed.</p><p>It was true, that Kaoru looked particularly worse for wear though. His usually at least partially neat hair was frazzled and the ponytail was more half-assed than usual, strands falling loosely and looping in on themselves, further tangling into the yellow tie atop Kaoru's head.</p><p>Kojiro wasn't listening to Kaoru and instead spoke a few words, against his better judgement. "Want me to fix it for you?"</p><p> </p><p>OR: One of those 5 times fics but its probably going to be more than 5 times and also far longer where I explore all the different times Kaoru let Kojiro touch his hair, for better or worse.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nanjo Kojiro | Joe &amp; Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom, Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>139</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Messy Fix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I got distracted.<br/>So now I'm writing this.<br/>Anyway, my friend sent me a fic about Kojiro doing Kaoru's hair and I read a really good 5 times fic a while ago and the combination of the two made me want to write my own fic!!<br/>Fic links:<br/>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29480043<br/>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29948001</p><p>As tags say, I will make sure to add respective trigger warnings before every chapter as well!!<br/>Tw for chapter 1: Bullying, but that's it!! No cussing even in this first chapter I don't think, it's just a cute hurt/comfort chapter!</p><p>And with that, I hope you enjoy reading Cherry Silk!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>  When Kojiro and Kaoru had first met in elementary school, Kaoru’s hair was already long. It was more than just “long” Though, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span>. When they </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> first met, running into each other and knocking one another over on the street as Kaoru skated straight into him, the golden-eyed boy’s hair was already halfway down his back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro had stared at it. Of course he was a dumb 7 year old though and had called him ‘miss’ when he said sorry, which got the green-haired boy a punch in the gut.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘miss’</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!” the pink-haired child huffed, face red with fury.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! I didn’t mean to jeez!!” Kojiro had puffed, holding his stomach slightly. His eyes fell to the skateboard that had been upturned in their initial collision. “Hey can you use that thing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The boy’s eyes stopped glaring a moment and went wide, following Kojiro’s gaze. He kicked lightly at the thing, one of the wheels spinning. “Kinda…” His voice was shy and quiet, a stark contrast to his yelling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  In hindsight, this was the moment Kojiro had decided he wanted to be this boy’s friend. For years, he would say that it was only after he’d seen Kaoru skate that he wanted to be his friend, but there was no other explanation for the way Kojiro had actively sought out the pink haired boy on his street before that moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Can you show me??” Kojiro had asked, eyes bright.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The boy glared at him and turned his nose up. “No way, you called me a girl!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro’s eyes went wide. “B-but! That’s what you look like!!” It was now his turn for his face to go red. “Your hair is too long and pink to look like a boy!! It’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> fault!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The boy gaped and kicked Kojiro in the shin. “Is not!! My hair is the coolest, you’re just a dumb idiot!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Am not, I did the whole math test faster than everyone!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Are too!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “No!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Ya-huh!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You’re the meanest </span>
  <em>
    <span>girl</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’ve met ever!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m not a girl</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!! I’ll hit you with my skateboard if you call me a girl again, so you better stop!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “SKATER KID’S A GIRL~!! SKATER KID’S A GIRL~!! SKATER-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro did indeed get hit on the head with a skateboard that day. He didn’t even see when Kaoru had skated away, but when he looked up from his small tears of pain, the pink haired boy was gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They had become friends after that, somehow. And maybe someone could figure out how it had happened if they had the time, but for now all that mattered was that the two were inseparable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro had come to learn that Kaoru’s hair was important to him. Very much so. By the time they were both in fifth grade, the boy hadn’t cut it once and it was down to his waist now. He never did much with it, but every once in a while he showed up with it in a tight braid- a clear sign his mother had woken up on time that morning. Once or twice his hair looked like Kaoru himself had tried to braid it, clearly not knowing how to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And the last thing to know was that Kaoru was bullied. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Constantly</span>
  </em>
  <span>. His long pink hair, big black frames, quiet but spiney exterior, and his skateboarding all somehow had painted a huge target on the kid’s back. Kojiro never understood it; he loved Kaoru’s hair- knew how much it meant to Kaoru- and he thought his big glasses made him look smart, his snappy personality made him interesting and his skateboarding was just the coolest Kojiro had ever seen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  But nonetheless, Kaoru was bullied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And it was one day in particular that Kojiro would never quite forget.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He couldn’t find Kaoru in the courtyard like normal that morning, so he went looking in the bathrooms- Kaoru liked to hide there when the bullying was really bad. And he had found him, crying in the last stall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kaoru? It’s me, Kojiro.” He had called. By now they were both 10. Well, Kojiro was 10, Kaoru was still a few months away from his birthday.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “G-go away!!” Kaoru had hiccoughed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kaoru, you’re crying...I don’t want to leave you alone. That would be mean.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I d-don’t ca-hare!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “What did they do to you, Kaoru? Who was it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  There was a pause now, only filled with sniffling. “S-stupid T-t-tamaki and hi-is dumb fri-hends…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro took note of the names and promised himself he’d confront them later. “What happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro heard Kaoru’s breath quicken and he started crying harder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kaoru, did they hurt you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “N-no!!” The response was choked, but it didn’t sound like a lie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I’m gonna come in, Kaoru, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru let out a panicked noise. “NO!!!” He screamed and slammed his body against the stall door, even though Kojiro could still crawl under. “You can’t see me!!!” His words were desperate, but Kojiro was too now. Whatever had happened was a lot worse than anything else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kaoru, I won’t be angry I promise!” He said, pressing up against the door too. The bell rang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Yo-ou’re gonna b-be late fo-hor clas-s, Koji.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I don’t care about that! I care about you! Can you please let me in?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru hesitated. “Y-you promi-ise you won’t lau-gh?” His voice was getting quieter and sadder. It made Kojiro sad too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I promise, Kaoru!! If I laugh you can…” Kojiro thought for a moment. “You can scribble all over my skateboard!!” He said confidently. That should be a reasonable thing to risk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh-kay…” Kaoru breathed, stepping away from the door. Kojiro stepped back as well and let his best friend swing the large plastic sheet open.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro could only stare for a long moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru’s eyes and face were blotchy and red, tears still rolling over his lightly freckled cheeks, his glasses a little foggy from his hot breath and face. But that wasn’t even the half of it, oh it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>far</span>
  </em>
  <span> from the half of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru’s long hair was all but destroyed in 31 different flavors. A section was unevenly hacked off the bottom and frayed from the less than properly sharp safety scissors that had probably been used on the locks. There was tape and glue stuck in the mass too, tangling and catching and mussing up the strands. There were a few gross pieces of now dried up gum smashed into the strawberry stuff right above his shoulders and there were sections of reds greens and yellows that looked like they had been painted on. There was a piece of paper crumpled in the corner of the stall and a staple with a small ripped chuck still stuck to it that pressed it’s way through the hem of Kaoru’s blue sweater, and something black was smudged across his cheek, the smear running wetly with his tears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kaoru…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru burst into tears again, and fell forward into Kojiro’s arms. It was the first time they had ever really </span>
  <em>
    <span>hugged</span>
  </em>
  <span>- since of course hugging was for babies and prissy girls- but that was hardly what was on Kojiro’s mind as his best friend sobbed into his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “T-th-the-ey cu-c-cut my h-hai-air!!!” He wept. “An-nd I ca-han’t g-get t-this stu-upi-id gunk ou-out!!!” He cried harder and buried his head further into Kojiro’s shoulder. “I’m go-onna k-kill em, Koh-ojiro!! I’ll kill em a-hall!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro was at a loss for what to do for the first time ever. Usually, Kaoru would calm down after a little while and the two of them would spend recess or the next morning standing up for themselves- or </span>
  <em>
    <span>with</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kaoru in Kojiro’s case.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Now it’s important to say that at this point, Kojiro had been inspired by his friend’s long hair and had refused to let his mother cut it even once in the past three years. It was long enough now that he could bunch it up into a short ponytail that made the back of his head look like a mini broomstick. He liked it though and so did Kaoru.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And that’s when Kojiro had an idea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Hey, Kaoru. What if…” He paused, biting his lip. It was a risk, but maybe… “What if, because I don’t think we can fix your hair, what if instead we...we cut it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru’s breath hitched and he pulled away from Kojiro. “C-cut it?! B-but wh-what if- what if w-we can actu-uly still save i-it!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro looked down, not wanting to see his friend so upset. “They cut off part of your hair already-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I-it wasn’t too much!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-And you have glue and gum stuck-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “There must be ways to get that stuff out!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-And that paint looks like it’ll stain-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “S-s-so wh-what!!! May-haybe it’ll look co-ool!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-But I don’t want you to just cut it alone-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “H-huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-So I’ll cut my hair too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Now it was Kaoru’s turn to balk. “Kojiro!! You can’t cut your hair!! You love it like that and it didn’t even get messed up like mine!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro puffed out his cheeks. “But it’s not fair that you have to cut your hair and I get to keep mine, all cause some dumb kids were dumb!!” He turned to his backpack which had been discarded on the floor, sifting through it for what he needed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kojiro, you do-hon’t have to!! I-I’ll cut my ha-air a-and the-en we-e’ll-” Kaoru had started getting choked up again at the now inevitable prospect of having to cut his hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro found the ‘adult’ scissors he had taken with him to school (He took them because his mom said that safety scissors were dumb and never got the job done) and turned back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kaoru I don’t want you to do this by yourself!” He said confidently. “You’re not alone, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru seemed to stare at him for a long while, his eyes still dripping tears without his consent before his face twisted into half a glare, half a smile. “Idiot. Fine. We’ll cut our hair together or whatever.” Kojiro smiled back and held up his scissors.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They stood up and walked to the sinks where they stood at awkward angles so Kojiro had access to the defaced locks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  It was the first time Kojiro had felt his friend’s hair other than having the strands flutter past him while skating. It was such a shame it was under these circumstances. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Hold on, wait I need to do something first!” Kojiro said, an important thought coming to his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “What-?” Before Kaoru could even ask a full question, Kojiro had snapped a picture with his little flip-phone. “Why’d you do that?! I don’t wanna </span>
  <em>
    <span>remember</span>
  </em>
  <span> this!!” Kaoru cried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro pocketed his phone again. “So that your parents know why we had to cut it. Don’t want them getting angry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh...Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Finally, Kojiro held the scissors to the pink mess. “Ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru took a deep breath, his eyes squeezing shut. “Just...Do it quick.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The quiet sound of blades meeting silken strands consumed that bathroom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And soon, the deed was done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  It was a little jagged and uneven, but it was better than the mess it had been before, the locks of hair reaching just barely above Kaoru’s shoulders. Kojiro was silently glad that the topmost part of his head had been virtually untouched, save for a small piece of tape that was easily- however painfully- removed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru stared at himself in the mirror for what seemed like ages. Touching his hair and running his hands through it until it fell away as it tumbled across the edge of where the strands ended.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Finally, Kaoru turned back to Kojiro, his golden eyes no longer swimming with hurt, but rather they were hard. Not quite cold, but determined. “Alright. Your turn, Koji.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They switched places and Kojiro felt Kaoru’s hands brush against his neck slightly, the cold skin making him shiver.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  But Kaoru hesitated. “I...I don’t know how to do this…” He said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Hey, it’s okay! Just cut off the ponytail!” Kojiro cheered him on. “It’s not like I really knew what </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> was doing, either. And I won’t be mad if it looks ugly, cause I also messed up your hair a bit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru paused and when Kojiro glanced behind him, he could see Kaoru palming his new, choppy hair again. “Alright.” He said, confidence back. “Let’s do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And once again, a quiet </span>
  <em>
    <span>Swip, swip, swip</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the melody of the tiled room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And yeah.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro looked awful.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  But so did Kaoru.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And they also looked far happier for it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The bathroom was littered in green and pink flossy clumps and their teacher had chewed them out for being late when they arrived, the dumb kids who had commited the crimes against Kaoru’s hair were dumbfounded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  When the bathroom was discovered, the two of them were made to stay after school to clean it up and Kaoru’s mother had been in hysterics, had screamed and cried and yelled- mostly at Kojiro- until Kojiro had shown her the picture of what it had been like before. Kojiro’s mother was better, but he didn’t have a picture or much of a story to back up his decision.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The next day, the two of them got taken out together to get their hair properly fixed by a barber. Kojiro’s hair had finished sooner than Kaoru’s so he got to watch as the hairdresser snipped away Kojiro’s less than adequate handiwork.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  By the time they were both done, Kojiro had a close cut generic look and Kaoru had a pretty, neat bob with the front ends hanging lower than the rest, framing his pale face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He looked cute.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Someone could say he still looked like a pretty girl, now tending to tie half his hair back into the tiniest of ponytails.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  But Kojiro would never say he looked like a girl ever again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  To Kojiro, Kaoru looked like a prince.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Caught On Help</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's been a few years, they've gotten a little more reckless.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Trigger Warnings for this Chapter:<br/>Strong language.<br/>That's all! :]</p>
<p>Have fun and be safe!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>  Years had passed by and the two were in middle school now. Kaoru’s hair had grown out again, spilling just over his shoulders in a stream of strawberry thread. Kojiro hadn’t really cared what his hair did anymore, and ended up keeping it just short enough that it didn’t bother him, but his broomstick ponytail was back again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The two of them had stuck together through the years, and Kaoru had gotten less shy about defending himself now. Sure, he was still teased and made fun of from time to time, but after the “Basketball Incident” No one really pushed much past name calling, unless they were particularly ballsy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  That was another thing. Their vocabulary had been...</span>
  <em>
    <span>enlightened</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Kojiro would get in trouble for cussing and tended not to do it often, Kaoru on the other hand was beginning to sound a lot like a sailor come their 8th grade year.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Mother</span>
  <em>
    <span>fucker</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!!” Kaoru shouted as he shook out his hand from where it had banged against the corner of the table they sat at.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Jesus, you’re such a wimp, Kao.” Kojiro rolled his eyes and took another bite of his lunch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru glared at him and kicked his shin under the table with the toe of his shoes. “Empty-headed bitch- You cried for like an entire fucking day you broke your arm!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>ten</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! The hell you expect?!” He shot back, kicking him in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “No you’re just a fucking baby, Kojiro! I bet if I’d been the one to break my arm, I wouldn’t have cried like that.” Another kick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh you </span>
  <em>
    <span>wish</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! You used to cry when you </span>
  <em>
    <span>scraped your knees</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! You would have balled your head off, four-eyes!!” A kick back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Yeah, I cried when I was what? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Eight</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Grow up Kojiro and face the facts- You’re a little bitch-boy and I’m a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>god</span>
  </em>
  <span> at skating!” The kicks were getting harder, they might leave bruises.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh what does </span>
  <em>
    <span>skateboarding</span>
  </em>
  <span> have anything to do with this?! And you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a </span>
  <em>
    <span>god</span>
  </em>
  <span> at it!! If anything, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> the better skater!” This time Kaoru winced when Kojiro landed his foot against his ankle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You’re sooo full of </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! I’m the better skater and I swear to </span>
  <em>
    <span>god</span>
  </em>
  <span> there is no way you can argue that!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Ow- Oh come </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! I could argue it </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> fucking day!! In fact I bet I could prove it!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Ouch- Oh yeah?! You wanna fucking prove it, bitch-boy!? How about we settle it with a race, huh?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Damn- Hell yeah!! 32nd’s alley, dickhead?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Shit- Fine by me, asshole!! AND WOULD YOU QUIT KICKING ME?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?! YOU STARTED IT!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “OH FOR THE LOVE OF-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The bell ended up saving what little was left of their shins and they gathered their stuff for class.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  32nd’s alley was a particular alleyway that twisted uphill quite a ways, a narrow space, especially considering they meant to skate down it, and covered in dingy pipes and other protruding things that made the trail interesting. It started at the top end of a hill, chained off as to discourage people from traveling through the slope, and it exited out on 32nd street- a decently active street during the day, though it hardly had cars at night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Him and Kaoru had been using that particular alley to settle arguments and disputes for nearly a year and a half now, the two of them staying up or sneaking out late, returning to their beds just before midnight because, while neither would admit it, the 14 year olds </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> concerned about being caught out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro had made his way up the hill and was waiting by the alley entrance, fiddling with his board and doing small tricks that were easier than anything now for him, when Kaoru finally arrived at around 10 o’clock.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You’re late, four-eyes!!” Kojiro called, his eyes fixed on his board as he did another small trick, this one slightly harder to grasp than the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru huffed. “I couldn’t find my board and then I lost my hair tie and stopped to look for it, dumbass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro looked up and sure enough, Kaoru’s hair- which usually would be done up in a ponytail of sorts, tending to be a quickly done work only serving to keep the strands out of his way- was hanging loosely over his shoulders and wavering slightly in the wind. It was rare to see Kaoru’s hair completely loose and it would have been a lie to say Kojiro wasn’t a little captivated for a moment. The moment passed when Kaoru tugged sharply on Kojiro’s ponytail, making him yelp slightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Yep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  That was the Kaoru he knew best.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Hey dimwit, what’s gonna be the bet for this one, huh?” Kaoru asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Hm…” He stared at Kaoru a moment, trying to figure out what else he could get out of his friend other than bragging rights. The wind fluttered in Kaoru’s pink locks and picked the strands away from his ears a bit. And then Kojiro had an idea. “If I win,” He said slowly as the wind died down, Kaoru’s hair falling back into place. He brushed the hair out of the way so the pinkette’s ear was exposed again. “You gotta let me pierce your ears!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru’s hands came and slapped over his ears. “What the hell?! No way, you can’t-” Kojiro was smiling smugly, knowing that they had rules to these things. “...Shit, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span>, can’t you?” Kojiro nodded and dodged a punch. “Fucker- Fine if that’s how you wanna play then if </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> win you gotta dye your hair bright-ass purple for the rest of the year!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro wanted to argue, but he snapped his jaw shut. “Fine. I just won’t lose then!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Whatever you say, </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch-boy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Kaoru pulled out a small box that looked like a cross between a radio and a phone. “Set a timer.” He spoke into it. Something beeped and Kaoru’s brow furrowed. “No, shit, wait- no not that- dammit-” He fiddled with the contraption for a while longer and Kojiro found the balls to laugh at his friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> trying to get that thing to work?” Kojiro sputtered. It was Kaoru’s passion project, and he was careful to not mock it too much, lest his pink haired friend actually give up, but it still seemed hopeless, especially after how the box had broken last time; making screaming noises and crackling buzzes for hours after Kaoru had hit a wrong button.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru kicked Kojiro’s board from under him. “Yeah I’m still trying to get her to work, shit-head!! I couldn’t just abandon her like that!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro whistled. “Oh so it’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> now? You upset because I have more girls crushing on me than you do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru brushed him off, engrossed in trying to fix whatever problem was wrong with his box, pink hair getting in his way as he blew it upward out of his face. “Oh shut the fuck up…” He finally seemed to get it to work and his eyes lit up- something that reminded Kojiro of fireworks on a clear night, though he would never say so out loud. “Ah-HA!! Got it!!” He shoved the box into Kojiro’s hands. “When you start down the hill, press </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> button and it’ll time you from the moment you start moving to the moment you stop.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They always ended up having to do it this way, timing themselves instead of actually racing side by side. The alley was far too narrow for that. It didn’t matter, they were fine with it this way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro took the box and pretended not to be impressed. “You better be counting too, four-eyes cause I’m about to blow you out of the water!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He jumped over the chain, and pressed the button on the box.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He sped down the alley, making sure to do tricks against the pipes and walls along the way, knowing Kaoru would end up doing the same. This </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a race to see who was the best, wasn’t it? Might as well go all out, even if it slowed him down a bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  When he reached the bottom, skidding out into the street a bit, the black box in his pocket made a noise that sounded like what pixels looked like.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “3 minutes. 26 seconds.” It graveled out, a little too loud for Kojiro’s liking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He smiled anyway. “Try and beat </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, jerk!!” He hissed to himself as he made his way up the hill again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “What was your-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro cut him off, maybe a bit too proud. “3 minutes 26!” He called, face smug as ever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru’s eyes widened a tad. “Wait isn’t that-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “A new personal best? Hell yeah it is!! Might as well let me pierce your ears already, cause there’s no way-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru kicked him. “Shut up!! I’ll make you eat </span>
  <em>
    <span>dirt</span>
  </em>
  <span> fucker!!!” He snatched the box away from Kojiro and reset the timer, jumping over the chains and leaving his green haired friend before he could even fight back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  But Kojiro was satisfied and confident he’d win. And even if Kaoru </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> beat him, it would be well earned, so he really didn’t mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He quietly waited, surfing on his phone a bit. If Kaoru was as good a skater as Kojiro knew him to be, he should be halfway down by now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And then he heard a distant yelp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He wasn’t even sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span> he had heard it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  All he knew was that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> heard it, and now Kojiro was making his way down the alley.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He heard cussing the closer he got to the middle part and soon he saw Kaoru.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He was stuck, standing halfway on a pipe jutting out of the wall. His movements were jagged and distressed for sure, the panic in his actions clear. The reasons for him being halfway up the dirty wall, was his loose pink hair. It was caught and tangled horribly in what looked like a flower basket hook right above him. He was tugging violently at the strands behind him, not being able to turn to see what he was even stuck on without hurting himself further. It looked painful to say the least, especially considering it was caught bad enough that it had made Kaoru </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop skating</span>
  </em>
  <span>. However the hell he managed </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was beyond Kojiro, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Holy </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Kaoru hold still and </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop tugging</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!” Kojiro said, running up to his friend. Now that he was closer, he could tell Kaoru had tears in his eyes. He decided to ignore that for now, for both of their sakes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kojiro? N-no I’ve got it I can-” Kojiro glared at him. “What?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You need help, you can’t even see how bad it is!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “It’s- ow- shit- I’m fine!!” Kaoru was holding onto the roots of his hair so tightly his knuckles were turning white, trying to stop the pulling from causing even more pain, his other hand reaching up desperately to try and unhook itself from the hidden object, just not long enough to reach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro held up his hands. “Hey, hey, stop! You’re going to rip out your hair if you keep tugging like that!! Here just-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I’ve got it!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-Let-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-Me-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I can do it!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-Help.” Kojiro had a hand softly over Kaoru’s white-knuckled one. He looked Kaoru in the eyes now. “Let me help, Kaoru.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They stayed like that for far longer than they needed to, though neither of them would think about that until afterward. Kojiro was very close to Kaoru’s face, his hand gently resting on the one Kaoru had shaking from distress. Gold eyes into red ones. If something began to flutter in either of their stomachs, neither made a comment or realized it for a very long time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru let out a breath and finally looked away. “Okay. Just- be gentle. If you can? It hurts like hell…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro let a whisper of a smile grace his face and he climbed up on the pipes to reach the tangle. Kaoru was taller than Kojiro by an inch or two at the moment anyway- always had been- and so he had to really make sure he was up decently high to get a good angle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  As he began untangling, they exchanged few words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Damn, you- you really got it tangled pretty bad, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Ow, ow- yeah sh-shut up I- owowow </span>
  <em>
    <span>careful</span>
  </em>
  <span>- this is what happens- ow- when I don’t have my fucking tie!!”</span>
</p>
<p><span>  “Sorry- Maybe you should carry, like, more than one on you or- would you </span><em><span>quit</span></em> <em><span>wiggling</span></em><span>, it’s getting worse!!”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>  “Ow ow </span>
  <em>
    <span>ow</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!! Stop- stop- shit- fuck- dammit fucking- I’M NOT TRYING TO!! It </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Be more </span>
  <em>
    <span>careful</span>
  </em>
  <span> when you skate!! And this wouldn’t happen!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I know I know now please </span>
  <em>
    <span>please </span>
  </em>
  <span>hurry up!!” His voice was so distressed and it really did sound pained. It kind of hurt a bit to listen to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I’m trying, I’m trying! I’m sorry I’m going as fast as I can!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I know- Ow ow </span>
  <em>
    <span>ow</span>
  </em>
  <span>- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kojiro</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! Shit- I’m sorry it just- ow ow- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please hurry up</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I’m almost done…” Kojiro looked down at Kaoru, who was wincing in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. Kojiro grabbed the end of his pink hair in his fist, as tight as he could so the roots wouldn’t pull too harshly, and he tugged hard; snapping the last tangle out, leaving a small tuft of pink in the hook. “Got it!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru finally came away from the wall and ran his hands through his hair as best he could- which wasn’t very well- and breathed out gasps of relief. “Ohthankfuckinggod-” His words blurred together and Kojiro couldn’t suppress a small chuckle from leaving him. Kaoru turned and snapped. “Oh you </span>
  <em>
    <span>mother fucker</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! How about </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> try staying in that position for 20 minutes with your hair caught like that!!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro held up his hands. “Nope! No thank you! Having to help was </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> enough for me!! I hope you get well soon with that pink rats nest attached to your head now!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru kicked him “You son of a bitch- You know what? No. Fuck it. I’m not gonna try and argue with you. Now help me find my board and then we can go to your house.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro stared for a moment. “My house?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru didn’t look back at him, just walked down the hill. “You won, dumbass. Weren’t you going on about piercing my ears or some shit? C’mon, before it gets too late!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro paused. He...had won? Shouldn’t they redo the race because Kaoru had gotten trapped? Kojiro shook his head. If Kaoru said he’d won, who was Kojiro to argue? Besides, it meant he got to pierce his ears too!!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Wait up, Kao!! I think I have the perfect flower studs for you to wear too!!” Kojiro called after his friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru rolled his eyes and punched the green-haired boy’s shoulder. “Oh fuck off, asshole.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And if Kaoru was actually looking forward to having his ears pierced, well that was no one’s business but his own.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Sugar and Spite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Highschool, Kojiro is already head over heels and Kaoru is not helping the situation</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Tw for the chapter:<br/>Strong language, implications of a bad home-life, mentioned bad home-life.<br/>Love y'all, stay safe and enjoy!!</p>
<p>This chapter was beta'd by the wonderful melopragmatic!! You can find them both here on ao3 or on tumblr by the same handle! Love you, Fallow! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>  It was their junior year of highschool- arguably the worst year ever for any teen. But Kojiro supposed it was especially rough for Kaoru, considering the family he had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru had ended up rolling with the piercings, and had gotten other piercings too- all of which Kojiro ended up having to do for him since professional places wouldn’t do anything without a parent signature.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “What do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean</span>
  </em>
  <span> you can’t fucking do it?!” Kaoru had yelled at the front desk. The teal-haired woman had shook her head- a girl they had met a while ago through skating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I can’t legally give you extra piercings without parental consent, Cherry. And I’m not risking my fucking job for it.” Her huge round glasses reminded Kojiro of when Kaoru still wore frames. He had stopped wearing them a year or two ago after he broke his nose because of them during a particularly harsh fall. Kojiro sometimes missed them, but it never dampered how pretty Kaoru always looked.</span>
</p>
<p><span>  “Oh </span><em><span>fuck</span></em> <em><span>this</span></em><span>!!” Kaoru yelled. He grabbed Kojiro by the strap on his bag and dragged him out of the parlor behind him, flipping off the entire store as he went.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>  “C’mon, Kao, it’ll be fine,” Kojiro tried talking with his friend. Maybe any other times he’d make fun of the strawberry boy, but he had been aware of how important these piercings had been to him. Cause it was never </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> about the piercings. “I know you want something to show them, something to punch back, but maybe there are other ways? What if we cut and dyed your hair?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru’s grip tightened around Kojiro’s bag. “No!! Stupid cut and dye wouldn’t fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>work</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!” Kojiro could see Kaoru’s hand begin to tremble. “They would just cry for a day or two and then say some stupid shit like ‘oh it’ll grow back, no need to worry cause our baby boy is still gonna be the perfect fucking child we </span>
  <em>
    <span>know he is</span>
  </em>
  <span>’!!!” He stopped and finally slammed himself against the brick wall, letting go of his sea-haired friend. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!! Kojiro what the hell do I do?” He asked, burying his head in his hands. “They want me to go to some prestigious college and get some stuffy job and fucking help them pay their fucking debts- Did you know my mom got fucking pregnant?!” This, Kojiro didn’t know. He shook his head and leaned against the wall with him. “Dad got so pissed when he found out...And I keep catching her smoking again...Kojiro, I can’t-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh there you are!!” The girl with sea-foam hair jogged up to them. “Shit I’m glad I caught you,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru turned away and Kojiro took initiative this time. “Okay, Moray, what do you want? You already said you weren’t going to do it so-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I never said I couldn’t at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>help</span>
  </em>
  <span> you.” She said slyly, and Kaoru turned at this. “Look, I can’t be the one to </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> it, but I can stand by and help </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> do it, Joe. You were the one who did Cherry’s studs, right?” Kojiro nodded. “Hell yeah! I can tell you what shit to buy, and when you’re ready,” Moray pulled out a card, handing it to Kojiro. “Call me. See you losers later~!” and then she was gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  A week later, Kaoru had another three piercings.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And as expected, and planned, Kaoru’s parents had freaked out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  ...Maybe a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> much in Kojiro’s opinion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru had been thrown out of the house for the weekend and had crashed at Kojiro’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Much to the detriment of Kojiro's heart rate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  But that had been a year ago. Now they were two juniors, right at the horrible cusp of so many things- old enough to drive, but not quite an adult. Old enough to have responsibilities, but not quite old enough for the respect that came with it. Still treated as children, but old enough to know who they were. Arguably, the worst year for any teen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They had been skating more too- almost had their own little skate gang. They had aliases too now, and so did most people in the skate scene.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro had become Joe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru had become Cherry Blossom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Neither of them had chosen their own names.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  But their skating reputation still managed to reach the ears of those at school, to the misfortune of everyone. Except maybe Kojiro, who was swarmed by girls, asking how he had gotten so good, telling him he was just the coolest. It fed the boy’s ego in a way that made Kaoru furious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Along with Junior year, also came the dreaded event that everyone waited for- whether it was with misery or excitement, it didn’t matter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Prom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>And everyone was talking about it</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Nanjo, would...w-would you like to…” It was the third time that week that some chick had come up to Kojiro during lunch or after or before school. Kojiro didn’t mind, but Kaoru tended to scare all the girls away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Sorry-” Kaoru interrupted to confession, not for the first time, with a stupid, irritated smirk on his face. “Listen, try-hard,” The girl’s eyes went wide. “Either you get the damn words out of your insignificant mouth faster than a fucking snail in a glue trap,” Kojiro felt bad for the poor girl, subject to Kaoru’s toxic as sin words. “Or pick your </span>
  <em>
    <span>jaw up off the floor</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and walk your timid ass over to the next man-whore you ‘fell in love’ with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The girl’s eyes welled up and she spun on her heels and ran, choking back her sobs until she fell into the arms of what must have been her friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru seemed unbothered, as if nothing had happened, taking another bite of his lunch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “So…” Kojiro started. “I’m a man-whore now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh, no, absolutely not.” Kojiro paused. Was Kaoru passing up the opportunity to insult Kojiro in favor of affirming him? “That’s far too kind a word for what you are. I don’t think there’s a single word in the japanese language to describe the amount of low you are.” Ah. There he was. And for good measure, Kaoru paused a moment before adding, “Fucker.” And then he continued eating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You know, you don’t have to be so mean to those girls.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You’re too much of a softy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Hey, what is that supposed to mean?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “It </span>
  <em>
    <span>means</span>
  </em>
  <span> that I know you can’t say no to anyone who flutters their lashes at you, idiot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “What the hell?! Yes I can!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Really</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Yes!! I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> much of a pushover!! If anything, you don’t know when to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span> to the things you want!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh-ho-ho you’re going fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>? You know what, I’m gonna fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>prove</span>
  </em>
  <span> you don’t know how to say no to anyone who smiles pretty!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh yeah?! Well how bout-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Can’t prove what I already know, dickhead~!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “So I’m the only one who loses here?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Pretty much!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to sound so fucking cheerful about it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Absolutely.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I hate you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Aw, you’re a bitch~!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro raised his chopsticks level with Kaoru’s eyes and made a move toward them. Kaoru yelped and dodged, tossing a small piece of his lunch at Kojiro’s face. When the food stuck, the sea-haired boy made an offended noise and tackled the strawberry boy, tugging at his hair. The two wrestled until the bell saved them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “So.” Kojiro huffed, brushing himself off. “You’re gonna prove I’m a pushover?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “That’s the plan,” Kaoru mirrored him, fixing his wild hair out of his face. “Cause you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> a huge fucking pushover, Kojiro.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Whatever, jerk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Asshole.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Bitch!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Prick!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Four-eyes!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Ape!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The next day passed, Kaoru scared away another girl, but not much else had happened. Kojiro was starting to doubt that Kaoru was actually going to do anything. Because surely if he wanted to prove that he was so easily moved, he’d have let the girls finish their sentences, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  But no.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And nothing happened the day after that either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And then the weekend came along.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And Kojiro was promptly proven.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They had been skating around all day, figuring out new tricks in the light of day, and racing around in the dark of night. It had been a wild day, and Kojiro felt more free and alive than anything. He watched with stars in his eyes when Kaoru laughed, the sound filling his chest with blooming flowers and bubbles. He knew what those things meant by now, but wasn’t quite sure what </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> meant for him. Kojiro wanted it, of course, but he wanted to be around Kaoru far more than he wanted to kiss him, so he didn’t mind putting his feelings aside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The lyrical sound of laughter was abruptly cut short when the sound of police sirens began to scream and whine in the distance. Someone yelled “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Scatter</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!!” and everyone’s boards hit the ground in a different direction, Kojiro and Kaoru flying away to wherever the hell their wheels would take them. Kaoru was still laughing, a snipping, loud sound. The actual laugh itself wasn’t particularly boisterous, but rather it was the air it left, the emotions within it, that were loud as gunshots to Kojiro.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They somehow ended up at the pier again, though at this point Kojiro should have come to expect it. It was like their boards knew where to go better than their bodies did. They had long since lost the police now, and the two sat at the end of the dock, laughing and making jabs at one another, smiles ever-present.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  There was a comfortable lull and Kojiro couldn’t stop himself from staring, just a bit, at Kaoru. The moon made his cherry hair look like spun silver and his piercings caught the light, looking nearly blue and reminding Kojiro of gleaming sapphires. The water also reflected the moon, which in turn made the air around them seem to glow a pale blue, making Kaoru seem ethereal. His molten gold eyes shone and sparkled in the reflections, and it was all Kojiro could do to not compare it to fireworks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Kojiro?” Kaoru spoke like a clear-ringing bell. It was beautiful and it made Kojiro’s breath catch, the way he had spoken his name forcing more buds to bloom and bubbles to pop gently in his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Yeah?” He turned to face Kaoru, who was still facing the water with his head lifted to gaze at the moon, and spoke casually and softly, not wanting his affection to spill forth, lest he scare the boy away. Whatever they would talk about would chase those feelings away. He was sure of it. They’d speak of something and then devolve into insults that never had any fire behind them. That was how they were.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru turned to look at Kojiro, a gentle and rare smile curving on his lovely face, his eyes alive with a shine that shot bleeding holes into Kojiro’s heart. He’d have to patch them up later. Kaoru’s eyes fluttered slightly, locking onto Kojiro’s crimson ones. “Will you go to prom with me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And Kojiro was gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Destroyed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Utterly and completely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru was biting his lip, just slightly, and Kojiro wondered if this was why he had been scaring those girls away- the true reason. Had he been working up to ask Kojiro himself? There was something glittering, flickering, like the flame of a candle, bright in Kaoru’s eyes and Kojiro melted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Y-yes. Yes, I’ll- I-” Kojiro was struggling to keep his eagerness to a dull buzz, but now as he stared at Kaoru, the golden eyes that pierced his heart shifted, it was still shimmering, but with something very different than before, and his smile also changed, now more of a sly smirk that reminded him of a fox. Kojiro ignored it for now, and found his footing with his words. “Sure. Yeah, I’ll go to prom with you, Kaoru.” Still casual, just in case he misread the situation. And then to defuse it all, he cracked a grin. “Didn’t take you for the fancy type- my charms finally got to you, huh, punk?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru crossed his arms and kicked Kojiro. “As if, dick!! And I take ‘punk’ as a </span>
  <em>
    <span>compliment</span>
  </em>
  <span>, thank you very much!!” And the otherworldly moment was over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> you would!! You’re such a fucking nerd.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh so now all punks are nerds? That sounds a little contradictory, dumbass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “No, not all of them. Just you, mr. I-named-my-robot-after-a-girl!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare</span>
  </em>
  <span> you slander Carla that way!! And she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a robot!! She’s an AI!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Really? Is that why she ‘set a timer’ when that dog barked at her across the street?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I’M STILL WORKING ON HER, DAMMIT!!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They parted ways soon after, Kaoru’s watch beeping and letting the pair know it was 2 am, far time they had to go home. And Kojiro’s heart was </span>
  <em>
    <span>soaring</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Kaoru had </span>
  <em>
    <span>asked him to prom</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! And the way he had looked on the doc, moonlight in his hair, stars in his eyes, the ocean reflecting off his lips- </span>
  <em>
    <span>god</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kojiro wanted to kiss him. He thought about it more as he made his way into his house, quite as he could. Kaoru </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> look a little off after Kojiro said yes...but…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro remembered what Kaoru had promised days before and sat straight up on his bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>  “I’m gonna fucking prove you don’t know how to say no to anyone who smiles pretty!!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro’s phone pinged, a text from Kaoru.</span>
</p>
<p><b>Kaoru:</b> <em><span>You are so easy</span></em></p>
<p><b>Kaoru:</b> <em><span>See you at prom, lover boy~</span></em></p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro groaned and fell face down into his pillow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru had played him like a damn fiddle.</span>
</p>
<p><b>Kojiro:</b> <em><span>I hate you so much</span></em></p>
<p>
  <span>  The next week went by like a normal week would. They fought, made jabs at each other, Kaoru pushed Kojiro off his skateboard once; it was like nothing had happened at all. Except Kaoru, as more girls came by to ask Kojiro to prom, got a little more aggressive. Anything from strings of crafted insults to flipping them off to cussing them out. Once, Kojiro had been able to beat to the punch, saying he was already taken. He rolled his eyes at the shit-eating smug grin Kaoru had when Kojiro had told her off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  When they went home, Kaoru would text him small details about coordinating their prom...date? Hang-out?? Kojiro wasn’t sure what to call it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  It was the night of prom now, and Kojiro had dressed well. A white button-up with the top few buttons undone and the sleeves pulled up to his elbows. He was supposed to wear suspenders and a jacket, it was far too warm for any </span>
  <em>
    <span>jacket</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but he supposed the suspenders </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> look nice as he slung his coat over his shoulder. He wore the nice slacks and shoes though. He styled his hair slightly, just enough that it looked like he’d woken up looking like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  With his outfit done, he sent a text to Kaoru as he descended the stairs, dodging around his mother’s doting squeals.</span>
</p>
<p><b>Kojiro:</b> <em><span>Hey im done</span></em></p>
<p>
  <b>Kojiro: </b>
  <em>
    <span>should we meet at the event or halfway or smthin?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He turned back, giving a short smile as his mother snapped a quick photo. Picking up his skateboard as he went, Kojiro pulled his phone out again as he heard the ping.</span>
</p>
<p><b>Kaoru:</b> <em><span>Actually…</span></em></p>
<p><b>Kaoru:</b> <em><span>Can you stop by my place first???</span></em></p>
<p><b>Kaoru:</b> <em><span>I think i need help</span></em></p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro stared at his phone for a while. Kaoru? Asking for </span>
  <em>
    <span>help</span>
  </em>
  <span>? It made his heart flutter a bit, forcing him to quash the feelings with a sledge hammer. He probably just needed help adjusting his board or something…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He headed over to the small house that Kaoru had hardly ever called a ‘home’ and knocked on the door. He was shocked when it immediately swung wide, a pale hand tugging him in with the force of only someone like Kaoru. He hardly even had time to wave shyly to Mrs. Sakurayashiki, who was playing gently with a small black-haired toddler, before Kaoru had all but dragged him into his room and pushed the door closed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I’m sorry, I know this isn’t exactly what you had been planning on doing right now, but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t want to ask my mom- not that she’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> it anyway- and you were always better at this shit than me and I just-” Kojiro finally got a moment to get a good look at Kaoru. To say he was blown away would have been an understatement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  He was wearing a simple white shirt, like Kojiro, with the topmost button undone and the sleeves rolled up- it seemed neither of them particularly liked the prissy shirts. He had a waistcoat of such a deep blue it could probably be called black, almost unnoticeable embroidery of small blue flowers dancing across the fabric. An asymmetric tulle and silk skirt hung around his hips, a waterfall of deep blues and blacks that stopped an inch above his right knee and traveled down to end by his mid-calf on his left leg. Two pretty, silver chains also looped the topmost left side of the skirt, the links sparkling slightly under the light. He wore thin, black tights, his pale skin slightly visible from under the wispy fabric that disappeared into a pair of big, black combat boots- the same ones Kojiro recognized that he’d gotten Kaoru for his last birthday. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And then there was his face. He had somehow made his already pretty face drop-dead gorgeous, having a slight gloss to his lips with cosmetics, eyeliner, and a deep blue eyeshadow; it wasn’t so much that it made him look like a fake barbie doll, but it was enough to make anyone do a double take. He wore simple silver earrings on his cartilage piercings, but his lobe piercing was adorned with a dangling blue and silver gem. His hair didn’t have anything special done to it, in fact it was just tied into a low and lazy ponytail like he did when they skated as younger kids.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro was fucked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Completely and absolutely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-I need help…” Kaoru finished his thought and Kojiro was snapped back to the situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Uh, y-yeah. Sure, what do you need help with?” Kojiro cleared his throat, hoping the heat in his face wasn’t as obvious as he felt it was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru’s shoulders seemed to relax and he had a whisper of a smile on his face. It was pretty… “I’m shit at doing anything with my hair.” He turned around in his chair so his back was facing Kojiro. “But I’ve seen you with your sisters’ hair. So I...Can you do something with it for me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro had all but short circuited. Kaoru wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do his hair for </span>
  <em>
    <span>prom</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The prom that he was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>with Kojiro</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Looking like that</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  The crimson eyed boy walked up behind his friend and ran his hands through the pink ponytail. “Yeah, of course! Any ideas in particular?” He said, praying his voice was steady.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru paused. “Kinda? You know that weird fucking braid thing you did on you sister like a few weeks ago?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Which one?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Hana- you know that fucking...shit, you called it a weird name or something- spanish braid? I can’t remember…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro carefully slipped the hair tie out of the cherry colored silk and cocked an eyebrow. The heat in his face was getting better… “A french braid?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru perked up. Which was odd because Kaoru did not ‘perk’. “Yeah!! That one!! It looked cool as hell.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Actually, that gave me an idea,” Kojiro hummed, brushing the already neat strands. “You gotta trust me on this one, though. You up for it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru snorted. “Go wild, but if you fuck it up I’ll throw your board into the river!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro scoffed, but got to work, the locks of hair feeling like bliss as his hands began to weave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They argued back and forth, just as they’d always done for their entire life. Bickering and self-contained snorts was the song the friends had played with one another from the moment they’d met. It was what they were. And neither would have changed it for the world.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “-And if you think you can-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Hold on, Kao, it’s getting hard to braid at this angle- Can you turn around?” Kojiro had been letting himself avoid this part because he knew his face would probably light up the moment he saw Kaoru again. But if the braid was going to lay right…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh, shit, yeah yeah- Hold on.” Kaoru turned in his chair, mindful of where Kojiro’s hands were so as to not disturb the process. They were met face to face, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>far</span>
  </em>
  <span> closer than before. It seemed neither of them even breathed for a long moment. It was like time had slowed down just to let the two of them drink in one another’s presence. “Is this better?” Kaoru spoke, and Kojiro was positive it wasn’t meant to sound as soft as it did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro stuttered for just a moment before he locked his gaze onto Kaoru’s cherry hair. “Y-yeah. Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Right…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And now Kojiro worked in silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Over, under, over-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Did Kaoru smell like vanilla, or was Kojiro going insane?</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Under, over, under-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Now that he was up close, did Kojiro see </span>
  <em>
    <span>glitter</span>
  </em>
  <span> on his cheeks?</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Over, under, over-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And now that he was looking at his cheeks, had Kaoru put on blush too?</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Under, over, under-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Or...</span>
  <em>
    <span>Was he flustered</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Over, under, over, under-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “All done!” Kojiro tried to make it cheerful, cringing when his voice cracked. “You have a hair tie?” Kaoru nodded and passed his green-haired friend a dark blue tie. Finishing it off, Kojiro backed away. “There. What do you think?” He asked, and for good measure he dipped his voice into humor. “Aren’t I just the most stunning hair stylist?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru rolled his eyes and stood up to look in his bedroom mirror, shoving against Kojiro in retaliation. Said ‘hair stylist’ expected to hear some scoffing remark against his work, a tease, perhaps another push at his shoulder. But not a single word came from the cherry boy’s lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And when Kojiro looked past the back of Kaoru’s head to look at his face through the mirror, he was once again stuck still, reading the quiet awe and admiration on his friend’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru stared at himself, turning his head in various directions to see himself at better angles. He lightly touched the braid with his thin fingers- Kojiro now noticing how they were painted black- and his lips mouthed a word, breathed it out in silence, and Kojiro longed to know what word it had been, wanted to hear what his desire had spoken about what Kojiro had done for his image.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Gold met red in the mirror and Kaoru seemed to vaguely snap out of whatever trance he had been under. “What is it called?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro walked up behind him, some force compelling him to gently play with the braid. “It’s called a dutch braid, an inverted french braid. I don’t know if </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span> I braided it has a name, but…” Kojiro admired his handiwork. It was indeed a dutch braid, starting at the left side of his head, wrapping around the back of Kaoru’s scalp and ending over his right shoulder where it lay neatly, reminiscent of a silken rope. “I think it’s pretty.” He commented, forcing himself to back away again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru snorted and muttered, “‘Course </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’d</span>
  </em>
  <span> think it’s pretty…” before his eyes became a little more sincere. “It looks nice.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kojiro could have melted. He wanted to tell him how beautiful Kaoru </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> looked, tell him he looked like the night, like stars and the ocean, like the moon and sky. He could have drowned in the way the cherry boy looked with his hair tucked neatly over his shoulder in a rope that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> had created. Instead he smirked and cocked his head. “Aww you think I’m a good stylist~?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru’s face bled from sincere to mocking once again and the familiarity of what they were unfolded again. “No, you make a point- this is probably just a lucky stroke.” Kojiro gaped, offended as Kaoru strut past him. “You couldn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>style</span>
  </em>
  <span> if it punched you in the face. Why else do you think </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> helped you pick your outfit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “I what? You gonna say I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> have style?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “No I was gonna say the style is </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasted</span>
  </em>
  <span> on you!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>motherfucker</span>
  </em>
  <span>!! I should have never fucking asked you to help me!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Oh stop complaining, we’re gonna be late if you never shut up!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Well if you stop trying to toot your own horn we’d already be gone!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Can’t a guy be proud of himself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Absolutely not, your ego is already far too big.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Fuck you, dick.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Asshole.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Bitch!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Prick!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Four-eyes!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “Ape!!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  They stared each other down for a moment before dissolving into soft giggles, exiting the house with skateboards in hand, still making jabs at each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  Prom was a wild and amazing experience, and not for any of the reasons anyone would guess. It really set Kojiro’s heart </span>
  <em>
    <span>aflame</span>
  </em>
  <span> a bit. But that is a story for another day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And if Kojiro noticed how Kaoru was more careful with his hair than normal, he never mentioned it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>  Kaoru stared into the mirror for what felt like the eightieth time. Kojiro had really made a marvel of his unruly pink hair. He kept tracing the line of the braid, remembering what it had felt like to have Kojiro’s hands in his hair, brushing through softly, tugging, weaving. He recalled their closeness near the end and felt his heart pick up just the slightest amount; just enough to brush off. He handled to braid with care and repeated the soundless word he had only but breathed earlier.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  “...Beautiful…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>  And if Kaoru took pictures before he gently and reluctantly pulled the braid loose, that was between him and the night air around him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This one was a lot longer than I was expecting, but I hope you all enjoy it!!<br/>There's just one more chapter of them being kids and then we're really gonna start working our way up to canon and then probably post-canon too!</p>
<p>Anyway, thank you for reading Cherry Silk, and as always, Stay Fresh and Minty, Folks!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There are a couple little things I'll probably end up mentioning in each chapter, separate scenarios that would be interesting to read about but I didn't really have time to talk about/they didn't pertain to the story as much (Like how I mention how Kaoru and Kojiro meet but never went into detail) And If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to maybe write a separate story that contains all the missing pieces from this fic! :D</p><p>In any case, This is most likely the only time I'll be posting two chapters at once, I've slowed down with my writing over the years unfortunately, but I wouldn't be surprised if the next chapter is up in a week or so!!<br/>Thank you for reading Cherry Silk, and as always, Stay Fresh and Minty, Folks!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>